


Long Live the Queen

by Malkontent



Category: Chess Pieces (Anthropomorphic)
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Death, Female Characters, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge, Mother-Daughter Relationship, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21835336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malkontent/pseuds/Malkontent
Summary: When you play the game of Chess, you win, or you die.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Long Live the Queen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoctorTrekLock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorTrekLock/gifts).



“Your Majesty… Lady Bianca is dead.”

Queen Beyaz’s eyes shifted to the speaker, a young man in a private’s uniform, ragged and muddy from days in the open country. He spoke softly and shifted his weight nervously.

From the corner of the room there was an audible gasp. The queen’s eyes flickered to the princess, who quickly closed her mouth. The queen herself betrayed no hint of her feelings. 

“How.” The word came from the queen more like an order than a question.

The young man cleared his throat.

“There was an ambush. We were on our way to sector C6 to set up a basecamp. Our scouts reported that the area had been cleared and we expected to be able to set up a salient with little resistance. They came out of nowhere. The Bish… Lady Bianca stayed with the main force to hold off the attack and sent the rest of us back to inform you. Only a handful of us made it out.”

For a long moment, silence hung in the air. The queen remained motionless.

“Your Majes…”

“Thank you. That will be all,” the queen said, only a hint of fatigue in her voice.

Nodding, the soldier bowed before turning to leave.

“Mother…” the princess began, but the queen raised a finger and silenced her until the great wooden door had closed behind the soldier, leaving the two women alone in the echoing throne room.

“Image, Zuri,” the queen said, lowering her finger.

“The country is falling apart around us and you are worried about our image?” the princess said, harsher than she perhaps had meant to.

“Image is the country. People look to us for hope as much as for guidance. If we let them despair then we will all fall. Lady Bianca is… was… my most trusted advisor. She left her post as archbishop to lead our army because I asked her to. If you think her death means nothing to me...”

The princess shook her head.

“I’m sorry, mother. I just… what do we do now?”

The queen sighed and put a hand on her temple.

“I must go and lead the armies myself.”

“What? You can’t be serious!” the princess exclaimed.

“We are out of options. Your father chooses to hide behind his castle walls rather than face the truth of our vulnerability. Our best generals have been killed or taken prisoner. This has to end.”

“Send me!” Zuri said, “I can fight! I know the territory!”

“No,” the queen replied, “I won’t risk losing you.”

“If you go we risk losing everything!”

“I said no,” the queen snapped, standing up from her throne, “Zuri… you are the future of this country, and… you’re my daughter. I will not risk you.” 

The queen approached her daughter and put her arms around her shoulders, pulling her close.

“I love you Zuri. But this is something I have to do. Alone.”

The princess said nothing but tears began to fall from her eyes and stain the white collar of her dress.

“Go and get some rest..” her mother said, “I will leave tomorrow.”

The princess nodded, wiping her face and composing herself before heading out into the castle hall. When she reached her chambers she bolted the door and checked that she was alone before opening her wardrobe. She pushed aside the gowns and dresses and other pretty garments and pulled out a wooden box. She sighed and opened it. 

Inside, neatly folded, lay the clean white fabric of a private’s uniform

\-----------------------------------------

The queen stood in gleaming white armor on the field of battle. Around her lay the sons and daughters of two nations, black and white uniforms now almost indistinguishable beneath the smears of red.

“Cherno!” she shouted above the din of swords and shields clanging from far away, “Face me!”

She had stalked her enemy, the Black King Cherno, into a thicket on the outskirts of the battle where he had retreated after her forces smashed his line, but now she was alone, cut off from her troops. 

The Queen heard a noise behind her and turned just in time to parry a heavy blow from a two-handed sword that would have separated her head from her body. The woman wielding it was tall and gaunt, clad head to toe in thick, black, steel armor.

“Lady Kuro…” the queen muttered, backing up, “Where is your coward of a king?”

“My lord is here on the field, leading his troops. Where is your king, Queen Beyaz? Safe in his bed while you do his dirty work?”

The queen lunged with her sword but the enemy knight parried easily, shoving the queen away from her.

“At least make this a challenge,” the knight said with a grin, “Your bishop put up more of a fight than this.”

The queen lunged again, but the knight stepped aside and the blow went wide, striking a tree and sticking hard in the thick trunk.

An armored foot caught Beyaz in the side, knocking the wind out of her and sending her tumbling among the leaves and branches.

“In truth,” Kuro said, advancing toward the prone monarch, “I admire your courage, milady. I will make this quick.”

\-----------------------------------------

Zuri scrambled through the trees, tripping over roots and equipment dropped by dead or fleeing troops from both sides. 

“Mother!” She cried out hopelessly, tossing her helmet to the ground to better see where she was going.

Suddenly she broke through into a small clearing and slammed into a solid figure which grunted and fell backwards. The two rolled away from each other and came to rest on the ground in the clearing.

Without heavy armor to weigh her down, Zuri was the first to her feet. She looked around, first at the black knight that she had hit, and then at the body of her mother, lying motionless beneath the spreading branches of an oak tree.

“No!” she screamed and ran to the queen, checking desperately for any sign of life. Behind her she heard the clang and groan of Kuro struggling to her feet. 

Without thinking, Zuri stood and grabbed at the hilt of the sword embedded in the tree and pulled with all her strength, nearly falling backward as it came free.

She spun and saw Lady Kuro standing dazed, but holding her sword.

“Princess Zuri…” she growled, “What an unexpected…”

Zuri screamed and charged at her, Kuro fell back and parried the blow but Zuri swung again, lower this time, and slammed the heavy sword into the back of Kuro’s left thigh, where the armor was weak, cutting through the padded leather backing. The knight cried out and sank to one knee.

“No…” the young woman said, her breath catching in her throat, “...Queen Zuri.”

She looked over at the body of her mother and readied the sword, its weight somehow familiar to her, despite her inexperience with it.

“You just promoted me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you have a great holiday season and enjoy your gifts! I saw that you had at least one story with the "Major Character Death" tag, and you didn't say anything against it in your request so I really, really, reeeeeally hope that it was ok for me to have that here. Merry Yuletide!


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